Our View: Yes to public input in government

Wednesday

Aug 13, 2014 at 8:38 PM

Just give the people a say.

That’s all that is being asked of the Peoria County Board this evening as its members deliberate whether to put two questions — one to eliminate the recorder of deeds office and fold its duties into the county clerk’s in 2016, the other to create a Peoria County Board of Elections to replace the two election administration offices, at the city and county, in operation now — on the Nov. 4 ballot.

We’ve been through all this before, of course, and this page has long been on the record in favor of less government duplication, enhanced efficiency and taxpayer relief — in other words, in support of both measures, generally speaking (there are a few variations this time around). We’re open to new arguments, though they’d have to be slam-dunk convincing for that position to change.

Whatever, that’s not the matter now before the board. What is? It’s merely this: Do board members trust voters to make this call — as they’ve trusted voters with their own political ambitions, as they’ve trusted voters with previous decisions regarding the museum, the future of a county nursing home, jail construction, etc. — or don’t they? This is neither an endorsement nor a rejection of the policy questions themselves; there’s ample time to debate their respective pros and cons. On the ballot, or not? That’s it.

Previously they’ve indicated that local citizens did not deserve a say — a curious position for a popularly elected official to take — thereby ensuring the status quo. That’s what the County Board did in 2012 when a majority decided not to seek voter input regarding not only the future of the recorder’s office but the auditor’s. The latter is no longer a part of the discussion.

Putting the matter on the ballot is no guarantee it will pass, of course. In 1986 and 2004, local voters said “no thanks” regarding consolidation of election services. We disagreed, but the voters had spoken, the democratic process had been respected, and them’s the breaks.

What we do find off-putting, however, is the lip service that government officials all too often give to seeking better, less expensive ways to deliver goods and services, which is always mystifying to those of us who work in the private sector where it’s the norm. How often have we seen local boards ask citizens to volunteer their time on study groups, to submit their researched recommendations — as the city and county did in 2011 with the PASS (Peoria Area Shared Services) Forward group to identify areas ripe for intergovernmental cooperation — and then promptly ignore them? Or find a way to sabotage them at the last minute?

The challenges facing government are as daunting and their budgets as tight as they have ever been, and that’s not likely to change in the foreseeable future. From this vantage, elected officials owe it to burdened taxpayers to seek alternatives and give them options. It absolutely is the principle of the thing. The Peoria County Board can take a step in that direction tonight. It should, without hesitation.